YEAR OF MISSION SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The ‘shepherds’ that Jeremiah speaks against must have only thought about themselves. It seems that God’s people have not been taken care of: the sheep have not been at the heart of the shepherds’ mission. Notice who takes over! The Lord will be the shepherd; he will be the one to watch over and care and love and lead… the Lord now sets the benchmark for shepherding. Don’t we see that reflected in the familiar psalm? We could use this Sunday’s readings to pray for those who shepherd us, who reflect the care of Christ to us and who seek to enable us to find Christ. Let’s pray for our priests in their mission of preaching and teaching, and their mission of enabling us to encounter the love of the Lord. Let’s pray that they find time for that ‘lonely place’ to encounter the Good Shepherd, to know his tenderness and look to the example he gives. May our priests know the love of Christ and seek to be like him in the way they radiate Christ’s care to those they watch over.